Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Ortofon SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65 pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Wavelength Proton USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer with Apple iTunes v.10.2.2, Decibel v.1.0.2 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE, Quad ESL.
Cables: USB:…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution's B-weighted sensitivity on its tweeter axis was 85dB/2.83V/m, which is slightly lower than the specified 86dB and significantly lower than the norm. The electrical impedance (fig.1) remains above 5 ohms from the bass through the low treble, but drops to a minimum value of 4 ohms between 4 and 5kHz. The electrical phase angle is generally benign, but there is a combination of 5 ohms and –45° at 3200Hz that will require the use of a good, 4 ohm-rated amplifier with this speaker. A small wrinkle between 200 and 300Hz in the…
One of the better digital front-ends I've ever heard was demonstrated for me a number of years ago at the house of an audiophile friend: a Weiss Engineering combo of Jason CD transport and Medea digital-to-analog converter. That front-end remains in my mind as one of the only digital systems I've heard that could compete with the very best that vinyl has to offer while still doing what digital does best. In other words, there were warmth and musicality, staggering dynamics, and real silent backgrounds. When, recently, I saw that the Swiss company had come out with a DAC featuring onboard…
The FireWire connection worked as advertised. Via FireWire, "Red Book" files sounded about as good as CDs, and hi-rez files sounded much better. Perhaps even greater performance can be had from the DAC202 with a different computer setup and fancier FireWire cables. What I know for sure is that the DAC202 maintained its easygoing quality via FireWire, presenting each recording as an organic whole.
Which brings me to the DAC202's shortcomings. While it succeeded at presenting music with no trace of traditional "digital" sound, the Weiss lacked a bit of jump factor, excitement, and…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Digital/analog converter with FireWire connectivity. Compatible sampling rates: 32–192kHz. Compatible word length: 16–24 bits. Digital inputs: FireWire, AES/EBU on XLR, or S/PDIF on RCA and TosLink,. Digital outputs: AES/EBU on XLR, S/PDIF on RCA, FireWire. TTL word sync input/output on BNC connectors. Main analog outputs: 2 stereo (1 XLR, 1 RCA). Headphone output: ¼" jack. Level control, main output: 4 coarse settings via relays (analog domain)—8.15V, 4.15V, 2.12V, 1.06V—fine setting via rotary encoder (digital domain); can be defeated for main…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Bel Canto Design e.One CD2 CD player–DAC; Sony Vaio laptop computer; dCS Debussy, Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto Design e.One DAC3.5VB (with VBS1 power supply) D/A converters.
Power Amplifiers: Rogue Audio M180 monoblocks, Plinius SA-103.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30, Atlantic Technology AT-1.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU. USB: Cardas Clear. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure (balanced & single-ended). Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal X. AC: Sain Line Systems Reference.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to measure the Weiss DAC202 (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. As well as driving the DAC202 with AES/EBU and TosLink S/PDIF data from the Audio Precision analyzers, I used a MacBook running Mac OS 10.6.8 and Pure Music 1.8 to play test-signal files via FireWire, using the Weiss Control Panel and driver program to check such settings as…
This seems right for a Friday afternoon: The video for “Real Love” from Chrysta Bell’s This Train, the new album produced by David Lynch and available now from La Rose Noire.
(Before clicking below, please note that this video contains "sexual situations." It may not be appropriate for certain younger viewers, certain older viewers, those with heart conditions, or those who, I don't know, hate life and stuff. I, however, like it a lot and I hope you do, too.)
The deluxe 180gm, 45rpm double LP package is limited to just 500 copies and includes an old-fashioned Real Love…
Okay, so now that we’ve all done our duty and held new babies, eaten dry turkey, listened to insane political diatribes and generally spent nothing but super terrific quality time with our families, not to mention paid fealty to the whole “it’s more blessed to give than to receive” rot, it’s time to get serious and talk about what WE want. No, not that, but something you can hold in your hands…well, yes, I guess you can hold that in your hands as well. Actually that’s the point really isn’t it with those perfectly teardropped mounds of soft, warm…. Sorry! Need to watch that.
What I meant…
The Consumer Electronics Show takes place January 10–13 in Las Vegas.
Have I mentioned that I hate Las Vegas? My hatred for Las Vegas is juvenile and irrational and represents what is probably the last strand of my nearly resigned defiance for all things bourgeois, fascist, bogus, and generally lame. I’ve softened up a lot over the last 10 years, but Vegas hardens me anew. I hate Las Vegas. The place is soulless, hollow, utterly putrid, infested with sickness, vice, and abandon, driven by all that is dirty and unholy (I kinda like that part, actually), and, above all, fake. So…